UNESCO HIV and Health Education Clearinghouse

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HIV elimination by 2030 cannot occur without attention to substance use. It cuts across risk groups and affects sexual risk behavior, treatment adherence, and systemic processes such as immunity and inflammation. There continues to be often limited attention to non-injection drug use and the syndemic character of HIV and substance use. …

Although overall drug use remains low among women, with men three times more likely than women to use cannabis, cocaine or amphetamines, women are more likely than men to misuse prescription drugs, particularly prescription opioids and tranquillizers (UNODC, 2015). In addition, as described later in the document, there are indications that this ‘gender gap’ might be closing among girls. …

The radio script is a departure from the usual kind of radio lessons in the life-skills programme. Here in a panel discussion, a team of people, including four young people and a medical expert, are brought together to discuss the various issues that form the themes of this material. The script can be used at all three levels, although you will want to emphasise different aspects of it at each level. It focuses on drug abuse, alcohol abuse and the effects of peer pressure. …

School administrators and teachers face difficult decisions about how best to use school resources in order to meet academic achievement goals. Many are hesitant to adopt prevention curricula that are not focused directly on academic achievement. Yet, some have hypothesized that prevention curricula can remove barriers to learning and, thus, promote achievement. This study examined relationships between school levels of student substance use and risk and protective factors that predict adolescent problem behaviors and achievement test performance in Washington State.

Purpose: A literature review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of external contributors (anyone other than a teacher at the school) in delivering school‐based drug, alcohol and tobacco education (substance use education) programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The review focused upon literature published from 1990 onwards in English. Published reports were identified via electronic searches, supplemented by hand searching of relevant journals. Relevant organisations and individuals were contacted to identify low circulation, difficult to acquire (grey) literature. …

Fidelity of program implementation under real-world conditions is a critical issue in the dissemination of evidence-based school substance use prevention curricula. Program effects are diminished when programs are implemented with poor fidelity. The authors assessed five domains of fidelity—adherence, exposure (dosage), quality of delivery, participant responsiveness and program differentiation (lack of contamination from other programs)—in a subset of respondents (N = 342) from a national random sample of public schools with middle school grades (N = 1721). …

To conduct a meta-analysis summarizing the effectiveness of school-based brief alcohol interventions (BAIs) among adolescents and to examine possible iatrogenic effects due to deviancy training in group-delivered interventions, a systematic search for eligible studies was undertaken, current through December 31, 2012. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they used an experimental/quasi-experimental design; focused on school-based BAIs; enrolled adolescent participants; and reported an alcohol-related outcome measure. …

It is widely recognized that teacher training affects the fidelity with which evidence-based substance use prevention curricula are implemented. This article presents the results of a 2005 survey of teachers from a nationally representative sample of 1721 public middle schools in the US (78.1% response rate).It measured fidelity along two dimensions (adherence and dose) and also assessed the number of hours, recency, and perceived effectiveness of teachers’ training, as well as the degree to which adherence was emphasized during training. …

Many unhealthy behaviors often begin during adolescence and represent major public health challenges. Substance abuse has a major impact on individuals, families, and communities, as its effects are cumulative, contributing to costly social, physical, and mental health problems. The authors conducted an overview of systematic reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent substance abuse among adolescents. They report findings from a total of 46 systematic reviews focusing on interventions for smoking/tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use, and combined substance abuse. …

This resource aims to help schools with the process of reviewing their drug and alcohol policy, with practical advice on consulting with teachers, pupils, parents and others in the community. It can be used by primary and secondary schools and pupil referral units, and should also be helpful for colleges.

The study’s objective is the systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies of alcohol use among young people (age 15–24 years) in eastern Africa to estimate prevalence of alcohol use and determine the extent of use of standardised screening questionnaires in alcohol studies. Based on the review results, the authors draw the conclusion that alcohol use and problem drinking were common among diverse groups of young people in eastern Africa, indicating the urgent need for alcohol-focused interventions in this population. …

This report presents the results of the sixth data-collection wave of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) and marks the 20th anniversary of ESPAD data collection (1995-2015). It is based on information provided by 96 043 students from 35 European countries, 24 of them being Member States of the European Union. About 600 000 students have participated in the successive ESPAD data-collection waves, making the project the most extensive, harmonised data collection on substance use in Europe.

The United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) published ‘International Standards on Drug Use Prevention’ in 2013. The standards were developed through a systematic assessment of the international evidence on prevention and they provide a summary of the available scientific evidence. The briefing provides a summary of the UNODC prevention standards and gives corresponding examples of relevant UK guidelines, programmes and interventions currently available in England. …

This step-by-step guide is intended to clarify intent and procedures for conducting searches and testing
for drugs on school premises. For parents/guardians and learners, it addresses some of the common questions
and concerns, and outlines their rights and responsibilities.